New line of team jerseys includes the Vancouver Terminals and Chicago Shamrocks

Photograph by: Steve Bosch
, PNG

Jon Mikl Thor is a strong man. Strong enough to bend steel bars with his teeth, and blow up hot water bottles till they explode.

Not the kind of guy who gets all misty-eyed at romance movies.

But you could forgive the hard rock music legend for welling up at BC Place Stadium this Sunday, when the Vancouver Canucks will don Vancouver Millionaires jerseys for the Heritage Classic.

Back in 1999, the passionate sports fan decided to resurrect the logo for the Millionaires, an all-but-forgotten team that won Vancouver’s only Stanley Cup in 1915.

He trademarked the Millionaires distinctive logo, which spells out “Vancouver” inside a big V. Then he produced a stylish new line of hats, T-shirts and jerseys, and hit the street.

“I pounded the pavement up and down Robson Street,” he recounts.

“But nobody wanted Vancouver Millionaires (merchandise), nobody had even heard of the Vancouver Millionaires. But we kept pushing and pushing, and finally stores started picking it up.”

The turning point came when the Vancouver Giants wore the Millionaires jerseys for a game in 2008. The masses rediscovered the Millionaires, and you started to see the logo pop up everywhere. Wayne Gretzky was spotted wearing a Millionaires jacket during the 2010 Olympics.

As an independent operator, though, Thor decided he’d taken the Millionaires brand as far as he could. So he sold the logo to the Canucks.

“They could tell the rest of the story, in a big way, like the Heritage Classic, which takes millions and millions of dollars to put on,” he said.

“I wasn’t going to be able to do that. I went as far as I could go with it, and it was time for the Canucks to take over. And they’re doing a wonderful job.”

But the East Van resident didn’t get out of the hockey memorabilia business. In partnership with Firstar Sports, Thor put together a new line of vintage hats from obscure but legendary teams like the Montreal Winged Wheelers (the first team to win the Stanley Cup in 1893), the Winnipeg Victorias (the first western Canadian Cup winners in 1901), and the Seattle Metropolitans (the first American team to win the Stanley Cup in 1918).

Each comes with a story. The Terminals was the name of a lacrosse team that featured many Millionaires, including Newsy Lalonde. The Millionaires were often referred to as The Terminals in the press (Vancouver was the terminal of the Canadian Pacific Railway, hence the name).

The 1912 jersey is maroon with white stripes on the arms and a big V logo that looks like two crossed dog bones. And it bears an uncanny resemblance to the 1912 Millionaires sweater.

“They would use the same jerseys,” Thor notes with a laugh. “Hey guys, hockey season is over, use our jerseys for lacrosse.”

The most striking jersey might be the Chicago Shamrocks, which is white with an emerald green three-leaf clover logo beneath “Chicago.” There are four green stripes on the arms.

The Shamrocks were in the American Hockey Association, a would-be rival to the National Hockey League. In 1933 they combined with the remnants of the Victoria Cougars from the Pacific Coast Hockey League to become the Detroit Red Wings.

“It happened like this,” explains Thor, who is a walking encyclopedia of vintage hockey facts.

“It was the Victoria Cougars, (which moved to Detroit to become) the Detroit Cougars, which became the Detroit Falcons.

“The Detroit Falcons go bankrupt. When the Detroit Falcons go bankrupt, (Shamrocks owner James Norris) moves the Shamrocks to Detroit to become the Detroit Red Wings.”

The Victoria Cougars were the last B.C. team to win the Stanley Cup, in 1925. They started off as the Senators in 1912, then became the Aristocrats in 1913. The Aristocrats jersey is a beautiful royal blue, with an angled red stripe across the midriff that reads “Victoria” in white letters.

The Boston Olympics were a championship amateur team that sent several players to represent the United States at the 1932 Winter Olympics. They had a great logo, a big blue “O” flanked by red wings, with Boston written over top. The sweater is white, with red and blue stripes.

Asked if it somewhat dangerous to be selling a Boston jersey in Vancouver, Firstar’s Doug Sheridan laughed.

“You can wear vintage, because you’re not aligned to a current team,” he said. “The thing I’m worried about with Boston is that (the Olympics had) New York Rangers colours.”

The jerseys will be about $80, and initially will be sold online at firstarsports.com and in some big stores in the U.S. Hats are $30. Ten per cent of the profits from the line will go to the Vancouver Canucks alumni, and Canuck greats Kirk McLean and Dennis Kearns were on hand for the announcement.

McLean thinks the repro jerseys are “spectacular.”

“I love seeing the vintage stuff,” he said. “It’s amazing the way they can turn these vintage looks into kind of a modern-day look.”

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.